Muddy buddy

8.28.05
It was HOT today, so we started out by spraying
Z's feet with the hose...which led to his shorts and
shirt getting wet, and a mud puddle being created
in our yard. Of course, one cannot have a proper
childhood without at least ONCE playing in a mud
puddle with no cares, so today was that day.
One of my fondest memories was my grandma letting me
play in a giant mudpuddle on the farm when we
were there to visit one summer...this is the
stuff sweet memories are made of.



Even covered in mud, isn't he just the cutest
thing you've ever seen???

New tricks, part 2

- flushing the toilet

- finding daddy's nose, mouth, ear (and his own on occasion!!)

- crawling like a madman EVERYWHERE (ok, so this isn't a NEW trick...it's still pretty exciting!)

- offering sticks to the dogs when we're in the backyard

- peek-a-boo master

- giving you "five" when asked (90% of the time)

I swear, he's a genius.

Cute

8.17.05
I LOVE this picture...

Thanks for the t-shirt, Granma & Granpa H!

It's good to be big

8.22.05
Cuz now he can crawl into his room and climb up
to reach his blanket in his crib!

13 month pictures

8.22.05
Now, taking the monthly picture is a bit more of a challenge.
He sat still for exactly ONE.





Then daddy got involved...

...to no avail...

This was the best we could do for length...

One month pictures - they were so EASY then!

8.22.04
He just stayed wherever I put him...

Nobody told me...

8.22.05
...that this is what my living room would look like after
spending an afternoon in it with a 13 month old!

Fun at the Fair!

8.22.05
Sunday afternoon, we ventured to the state fair for
a couple hours, and despite the wicked heat,
had a nice time.
We saw llamas...

...and mules....

...and goats (mommy's favorite!)...

...and more goats (maybe Zach's favorite too!)...

...and rabbits...

...and newly hatched quail! (oh my!)

A new trick!

Yesterday, Z discovered how to make silly sounds by flipping his fingers across his lips and tongue (sometimes it sticks out) while making noise...

Ok, so that's not a great discription of it...but I don't know how else to describe it!

At any rate, he figured it out all on his own, and it is the cutest thing ever.

Sweetest milestone EVER

This afternoon, Zach was on nap strike, so instead of fighting him, I got him up and we played in the living room for awhile. After an hour or so, he crawled over to me, climbed on my lap (I was sitting on the floor) and started sucking his thumb while he leaned against me.

It was the sweetest thing I have ever experienced.

Ever.

And then he took a nap.

My busy busy busy busy boy

8.19.05
Crawling is such a wonderful thing!
Now Zachary has discovered that he
can explore the various cabinets and drawers
in the kitchen that don't have latches on them





You can see that he doesn't keep his exploring limited
to just one or two cabinets...

...he's in ALL of them...

WAAAAAY in them!
What a silly little boy.

Life and Death

8.20.05
This evening, part of a squirrel nest in our big maple tree fell
onto our deck, and I didn't think much of it, until Sid
started sniffing around in the leaves and pulled out
this tiny baby squirrel.
He was still alive, so I shooed Sid away and
called Chris, who scooped the baby and
his dead sibling and brought them into the house.

These pictures are the live baby, after we warmed
some cloth diapers and placed them into the
currently-not-being-used baby wipe warmer (see, they
DO come in handy!!) along
with a rock that we heated up to try to keep him
warm. Then we loaded up the car and took him to
the emergency vet clinic, where I like to
think he will grow healthy and strong and
be released back into the "wild" someday.
I have no idea how old they were, but their eyes
were nowhere near open, and this little guy made
the tiniest little cries....
The whole thing was very emotional for me,
being the sap that I am.
And for the record, we had a makeshift funeral
for the sibling and buried him under
the tree in the front yard.

DUPLO boy!

8.16.05

Power Nap!

Wow!

Zachary is just now waking up from a THREE AND A HALF HOUR nap...That's gotta be some sort of record, don't you think?

It must be that dratted cold he has. Poor little bug.

Visit this site

Don't Blame Me I Voted for Kerry

It cracks me up!

Zach misses Lily

When Lily stayed with us last weekend, Zachary discovered the joy that is known as "fetch" in the dog world.

Lily is so ball crazy, that if she can find a tennis ball anywhere within a 20 block radius, she will bring it to you and repeatedly drop it at your feet, impatiently encouraging you to throw it so that she can scramble after it and bring it right back to your feet. Well, combine this behavior with a one year old who tries to throw any and every ball he can get his hands on (and sometimes other things that he gets his hands on as well), and you have a match made in heaven.

Lily doesn't care that the ball doesn't go much further than 8 inches (unless it gets a good roll...then it might go 18 inches!), and she doesn't even care if it sometimes goes BEHIND him or even in his lap. She'll pick it up and return it to him, waiting anxiously for his next throw. And, bless his heart, Zach doesn't care about the slimy ball.

However, now that Lily has gone back home, Zach still wants to play fetch with Gus and/or Sid. But they don't get it. Neither one will bring the ball back...unless Sid brings it back just so she can chew on it in front of you--taunting you. They're kind of snobby about throws, too...unless it goes at least three feet, they don't think it's worth the effort. And really, unless it's a big, half-deflated soccer ball, they're just simply not that interested.

But that sweet boy of mine just keeps trying. And hoping. You've got to love the innocence of babies.

When can Lily come visit again?

Snuggling the lion

8.17.05
Zachary got this cute blanket that has a lion head and tail on it (thanks, Patty)
before he was born, and he is now discovering just how wonderful this blanket is.
He loves to take the tail and rub it on his face to tickle tickle tickle himself...

...and he loves to roll around on the plush fur

But of course, the ultimate prize is the camera mommy's holding...

Enjoying a midday snack

8.17.05
Yummy graham crackers!

Bicycle Bicycle...

8.17.05
We found a helmet he'll wear...
doesn't he look HANDSOME??

Ready to hit the road...

Ok...how COOL is freecycle? We got this AWESOME
bike trailer for FREE!! It's great and we are now
enjoying bike rides around the neighborhood almost
every evening.

Preparing to climb the stairs

6.14.05
Photo courtesy of Auntie K

More one year portraits...

7.22.05

Love that tongue!

7.22.05
Don't you just want to gobble him up?